


Nowhere Like Home

by leo_minor



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Genre: Cuddling, First Kiss, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Mutual Pining, Ravio opens up about his past !!!, he's still endlessly optimistic, tragic backstory time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-12 04:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17460242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leo_minor/pseuds/leo_minor
Summary: "Me, I'm just happy to have a roof over my head. First time in a while - thanks to you, Mr. Hero !"





	Nowhere Like Home

**Author's Note:**

> i felt really guilty about how sad my last raviolink fic was, and i'm a sucker for ravio - thus this story was born, and here it is !!!!  
> fun challenge : find the clash lyrics reference ;)
> 
> ps. i dunno if it might bother anyone so i'd rather mention it quickly - ravs has a small panic attack halfway through, so you can skip that bit if it stresses you out, you won't be missing anything big. better safe than sorry !

Ravio always treated household objects with a special kind of sanctity.

This was something Link had taken some time to notice, mostly because the first thing Ravio had done was wreck his house from top to bottom and re-organise everything to his own liking ("You're hardly home anyway, buddy ! No harm done !"). But there was a certain way he interacted with the tiny cottage and its contents, a peculiarly careful attitude he kept up, that contradicted his first instinct. He never slammed the door. When he used the kitchen, he would clean up after himself so efficiently Link would sometimes only notice he'd cooked at all when a plate was placed in front of him. Despite the filth the young man spread through the entrance every time he returned, boots muddy and dragging on the carpet, there wasn't a trace of dirt left when he came back next. Sometimes, he'd find the merchant sitting on the carpet - he never seemed to use any chairs, and stepped around Link's bed like it was an altar - very still, radiating contentment. When the door would close behind him Ravio would yelp, jump up, and wish him a merry welcome home. He made his presence in the house nearly invisible, to the point where he and his displays of colourful weapons were the only thing that confirmed Link didn't live alone.

And while his watchfulness was much appreciated, it was perplexing.

"I'm just happy to have a roof over my head ! First time in a while - thanks to you, Mr. Hero !" Ravio had told him, the very day of their meeting after a wave of begging and bargaining that had, in the end, won him somewhere to stay. At the time Link's irritation had been flooding his head, and he'd accepted the thanks with a resigned nod, but the more he thought about it, and the more details he noticed about his guest's behaviour, the more he wondered.

One night he had decided to ask, and was met with the usual wave of nervous hand-gestures and over-enthusiastic movements, as well as no straight answer at all.

"Where I lived ? Oh, you wouldn't want to know, Mr. Hero !" Ravio had responded, tugging on his hood with noticeable insistence. "It's all a great big bore, yes it is ! I'm a travelling merchant, you see, mostly on the roads..." And there had been no getting anything more out of him for the rest of the evening.

He was loud and nearly never shut his mouth, but was a professional at improvising a deflection when conversation turned sour. He'd step around Link's questions with practised ease and start babbling about something else - and the hero, the poor young man, was too focused on the sound of his voice to realise he'd just been fooled. Again. Ravio had the particular and extremely troubling skill of being an enormous distraction; there were times where Link lost himself in watching the merchant step around the room in that bouncy way of his, gesturing wildly with his hands while telling the latest story he'd picked up from the village, and would come back to his senses to find he'd just wasted three hours. This defect of his (read : infatuation) was helping soothe his curiosity in no way whatsoever.

These not-answers only grew more and more frustrating, because he was growing more and more interested in who Ravio _was._ The merchant might answer minor questions, but as soon as they moved a threshold above 'trivial' he shut Link out, every time without fail. There had to be something holding him back, because he would look between Link and his hands, feeling the seams of his sleeves between his thumb and index finger, exhibiting such hesitance that even the most warm smile from Link couldn't push him to answer. When the questions hit home or a little too close, he'd mumble an excuse and busy himself in the opposite corner of their shared house, strikingly out of character. It was astonishing for a man so open to have no ways in.

Giving up, however, would be too easy.

 

 

Link was making him play a dangerous game.

And oh, it was no secret he was no amateur of its supposed thrill - he was most comfortable secure, his two feet on the ground, and four walls around him. A roof was certainly appreciated as well, and a lock on the door wouldn't hurt. The little house he was sharing with Hyrule's hero had started off with all these characteristics, and it was an easy guess to say no walls had crumbled, no ceilings collapsed, no locks broken, which left only a shift in the security Ravio had enjoyed at first. The irony, so crushing ! that the source of his discomfort would be the young man keeping him out of the cold was no laughing matter, oh, none at all ! But Link had begun to take interest (flattering), a little too much interest ( _dangerous_ ) in him and each conversation they had put him under unimaginable stress.

He didn't know where Link's curiosity came from, but it was nagging, insistent, and the young man showed no sign of wanting to repel it in any way. Ravio would have been happy to answer all his questions, and glad to share with someone his story, but with the current state of affairs and the very reason he was sleeping in his house at all, any clue or indication of who he was, or where he came from, would have disastrous repercussions. Link was too sharp for his own good, and Ravio already ashamed enough of his escape - these two factors sealed his lips and prevented him from spilling a word.

From this arose two, very big problems he saw no immediate ways to fix.

The first one was that Link had the particular and extremely troubling skill of being an enormous distraction; and the way he acted hinted that he knew this very well. There was a hood in the way of his eyes, but Ravio was far from blind, and rare were the times when he wouldn't stay transfixed, staring perhaps a little too intensely at the young hero when he walked in after a tough day of adventuring, grime on his face. Anyone with eyes wouldn't be able to keep them away from a sight like that - right ? Whether Link was aware of it or not, he always leaned it a little closer when signing something to Ravio, and the merchant's exhale would hitch in his throat, suddenly very grateful to have his face concealed. This little problem of his (read : fascination) made it very, very hard not to give in to the questioning. Every once of strength he had left was necessary to make a wild turn and distract Link with something else, thus saving his skin with his natural clumsiness.

The second was Link's reactions. With the striking smell of danger in the air and those serious blue eyes staring right at him, he never had the time to make a very convincing deviation - each was a little more obvious or improbable than the next, and Link was sufficiently clever to pick it up. It was clear he was getting increasingly frustrated with Ravio's lack of response, and already he was coming home a little less regularly, with a little less enthusiasm. It made his heart ache to know he was upsetting him, especially since he'd grown perhaps a little fond of him. Seeing him less made his days far more dull, and set him on an edge he felt he might slip from any moment.

For the above reasons he felt almost more relief than fear when Link cornered him one night.

Consider. To corner (verb) : to place in or drive into a corner. It could be perceived as too strong a word to come to mind, but it represented quite literally what the young hero had done. He had come home out of breath, dropped his weapon and shield onto the floor with a careless clang ( _had they made a mark on the floorboards ?_ ) and walked straight at Ravio. Instinctively he'd backed away to avoid bumping into him, but his host continued to advance until his back hit the wall and he was trapped between it and Link. Well, there were worse places to be.

"...Welcome home ?" Ravio said, his tone going upwards with sudden nervousness. He made himself very small between both walls, shrinking away from Link. Too close, too cramped.

Link seemed to consider him for a few seconds, peering  at him with such intensity that for a moment Ravio feared he might see through his hood. He let out an audible sigh of relief when the gaze was dropped from his face, and Link frowned at the floor instead - what little there was between them, a few inches at most. What was so interesting down there ?

Link snapped his fingers to get the merchant's attention, backing away a few steps to give the young man some space. " _Look,_ " he signed.

Ravio's head snapped up, and slammed against the wall behind him with a dull thud. He reached up with a yelp and rubbed the aching spot, trying his hardest to put all his attention on Link. "Ouch, yes yes yes !!! Looking right at you, Mr. Hero !"

Link, as jittery as his friend, instinctively reached out to help, but his trembling hands would have done more harm than good. He took them back and rocked on the back on his heels. " _Are you alright ?_ "

"I've been better," Ravio admitted, "and this corner is a little confined, you know ? Just a little tight. And we  _are_ crowding it a little. Wouldn't you want to take a step back, buddy ?"

Link shook his head. " _I can't._ " He gestured widely at the large, oh so open area behind his shoulder, and Ravio's heart ached a little. " _I don't want you to get away._ "

Oh no, they both thought at once. That sounds terribly menacing.

Ravio began to make blubbering sounds from under his hood, and Link's hands kept bumping into each other as he tried to clarify. " _No ! Don't be scared ! I'm... not going to hurt you ! I want to ask you some questions, but you keep running away !"_

If the merchant relaxed at all, he showed no sign of it. He was pulling at his hood again, running his fingers freely down its seams and sewing. With all the hand-waving, Link had ended up leaning in more than he'd stepped away, and Ravio's breathing was beginning to come in shorter wheezes. Oh, yes, having Link so close certainly was overwhelming, but the space around him kept reducing little by little, and the walls suddenly felt awfully heavy.

"I'll answer your questions if you'll just  _step back_ ," he told him, words choked - he wasn't sure all of them actually made it past his lips. All at once feeling very weak, he reached out and grasped Link's forearm to maintain his balance. His knees buckled beneath him; Link caught him as he fell forward and pulled him into something that faintly resembled a standing position, an arm securely wrapped around his waist.

Ravio rested his forehead against the young man's shoulder, chest heaving. "Sorry," he breathed out, and tapped repeatedly on Link's shoulder with his palm to prompt him to move backwards. This time, he got the message and stepped out of the corner, leading Ravio to his bed. A faint protest was mumbled, but he paid him no mind, giving him a little nudge to help him sit down. Once he was sure the young man wouldn't try to get up again, he settled besides him.

The merchant's breathing was gradually slowing, and setting back into a normal pace. His head had stopped spinning, which was certainly a start. When he was confident enough he wasn't going to faint, he opened his eyes and rolled his shoulders back a little, trying to relax his tense muscles. The area around his waist, where Link had softened his fall with a helping arm, was still warm, and he quietly deplored his state : hopeless, hopeless, hopeless.

Link closed his hand into a fist, and made a circular motion on his chest. " _I'm sorry._ "

Ravio waved his hand weakly, and gave a sort of laugh. "It's quite alright, buddy. You couldn't have known. Mostly...mostly because I refuse to tell you, actually."

The hero's gaze softened a little. " _I don't mean to pressure you._ " His chest shook with a silent chuckle. " _Even though I have been doing so, a bit._ " He paused, letting his hands rest in his lap for a few seconds. " _I'm just curious. You live here, but I don't know anything about you. I -_ " His hands froze, and his eyebrows knitted together, as though he were looking for a word in particular. " _I would like to get to know you,_ " he finished, smiling gently. There was such honesty in his eyes that Ravio felt his stomach twist.

OK. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt as much as he'd thought to share a little bit about himself. Just the harmless stuff, that he couldn't possibly link to his identity. He didn't have the heart and spirit to keep himself from giving in; and he did, he _did_ want to share who he was with Link. Mayhap Link would return the favour.

"Alright," he replied, nodding to himself. "I'll tell you a little about myself." Link looked delighted; his expression fell only minimally when Ravio lifted a finger and added : "...at a small price, of course."

 "... _I don't mind paying,_ ", Link signed, although he looked just a tad affronted.

Ravio shook his head. "Not in rupees, Mr. Hero. In rules. There's only one really, really important one you have to promise you'll follow : don't ask questions, OK ?"

Reflection and a frown passed over the young man's face before he gave his consent by nodding his head once. Ravio returned the gesture and settled back against the wall, clearing his throat.

Well, this was already harder than expected.

Link stopped swinging his legs on edge of the bed and shifted back on the sheets to settle by Ravio's side. His presence was a comfort that slowly coaxed the words from his throat.

 

"I never knew my parents," he started, and shut his eyes, searching the inside of his head for the right way to let things flow. He could almost hear the voice of the elders telling him the tale of his young years in hushed tones. He could almost see himself, a tiny, wailing child with a temperament as changing as the weather, passed from family to family and from household to household, never to settle. "I...was a bad omen to them." He was a cursed newcomer, born on a full moon, abandoned by frightful parents never to be seen again.

"I was raised by the community in my village." Under his eyelids dances a child too happy to be in such a grimy world, taught not to laugh nor to sing, lest he be robbed, taken away or struck. He is, once or twice, beat or slapped across the face. No one makes an effort to prevent the punishment, scared for their own lives and their own offspring. He is everyone and no one's son at once. "Quickly got my first few jobs - it wasn't so bad." The child is no longer happy and bright - his green eyes have dimmed and his face is soiled with soot. He is taken in by the thieves in their cold cellar hideout, who see in him a sharp mind and light feet. He is trained to steal, swipe and ransack. He isn't half bad. "I got a house pretty fast ! It was nice to have a place to call my own, even though it was a little small, and a bit cold." It  _is_ nice to have a place to call his own, after years of sleeping between wooden crates, trying desperately to stay warm. He doesn't mind the cracks in the door that let the cold draughts in, nor the fact he has to sleep on the floor.

"Life wasn't that great back then; my kingdom was having some troubles with a dozen wars fought at once - I was too young to be recruited, thankfully ! Can you imagine me in a war, Mr. Hero ? Why, I'd run away at the first loud noise. You're much better suited for battle than I am."

All the men disappear. Now he has grown older, any maternal feelings the women might have had for him are buried. "I was a pretty lonely kid. I got by, though, which is definitely the most important thing." Food gets more expensive, and clothes scarce. By the time his roof falls in, he doesn't have enough left in his wallet to do anything about it. "It was a little harsh. But you know that saying ? Every flower must grow through dirt ? I really believed there'd be something better for me in the future...It's what kept me going. Work ran out, so I went and found it myself !"

Lorule castle has remarkable architecture, but the entwining vines and thorns that grow menacingly on its walls and towers keep any admiration at bay. Its doorstep is intimidating and unprotected. He strolls right through and goes straight to the throne room. "The princess of my kingdom bore a terrible burden. With all that chaos resting on her shoulders, she was short-tempered and scared. She accepted my services, and appointed me her knight. Her knight ! I couldn't even lift a sword. I was the only male left in Castle Town, so she settle with what she had. Besides, I wasn't half bad with all the weapons I'm now gracefully renting you, Mr. Hero." He feels out of place, a thief now royal knight. He refuses the room he's offered in the castle and stubbornly stays in his house. When the wind hits the building, it tilts - someday, he thinks, it will surely fall to the ground. But not yet. And in the meantime, the stars above him are of great comfort. He hasn't liked tight places since leaving the thieves' hideout.

Then Yuga arrives.

"The opportunity for my princess to take action arose. The decision she made was a very bad, very terrible one. I felt I had a responsibility towards my kingdom, even though it had never been very kind to me. Sadly I was no use by Hil- by  _her_ side any longer, and things were beyond my reach. So I -"

He sighed from under his hood, throat tight. "I fled."

 

Link watched him with sympathetic eyes and reached out to place a hand over Ravio's. The merchant breathed out slowly, and when he raised his head again, his voice was bright again with restored and unshakeable optimism.

"It's alright, though ! I won't let my past hold me down. Besides, I was right when I thought good things would come to me if I kept moving forward. I'm doing alright for myself, now, right ? This is what I've been working all my life to find. I've got a stable income, and a roof over my head, and it's all so strange and new and...and, and a home ! I have a home." He paused, weighing his words for a moment. They held such significance that he found himself holding his breath.

"I do !" His speech accelerated with this sudden realisation - he reached out to grab Link's hand, squeezing it tightly between both of his. "When you let me stay, Mr. Hero, you can't imagine how grateful I was ! I wouldn't have to sleep in the cold anymore. And I thought that's all it would be, going from one place to the next like I always have, but... I like being here. I like sleeping on your cushions and your fuzzy carpet. I love greeting you whenever you come back home and making you something nice to eat and not having to worry about a thing ! I love -" He caught himself and clamped his hands over his mouth, overwhelmed with the warmth flooding him.

He looked up at Link; a soundless laugh was making his shoulders shake gently. His eyes were closed, and his cheeks warm, and once more Ravio had to bite down an impulsive confession. The hero turned to him and signed a quick " _I'm glad !_ " before wrapping his arms tight around his neck. Ravio melted into his hug with a merry grin and shut his eyes again. No ghosts of the past came to haunt him. The sunlight pouring in from the windows washed away the dirt of overcome struggles. He relaxed in the comfort of Link's arms and said :

"You're my home, Mr. Hero, and I can't ever thank you enough."

Link shook his head, and pulled away from the hug to raise his outstretched fingers to his chin and bring his palm down towards Ravio. " _Thank you._ " His smile seemed to light up the room. " _I'm very happy you shared your past with me. I feel like I...know you more._ "

Ravio nodded almost frantically, face aching with the biggest smile he could physically muster. "I'll tell you lots more ! Gladly !" If talking about himself brought more of this enlightenment he was now enjoying, he'd be happy to go on.

" _I know that it can be difficult._ " Link was frowning very lightly again, pondering over Ravio's words. " _I never got to know my parents, either. I got lucky and grew up with all the other kids in Kakariko Village, and the blacksmith gave me a job. And then Princess Zelda asked for my help and everything got a little overwhelming !_ " He rubbed the back of his neck, chewing on his lip distractedly. " _I know what it's like to have an uncertain tomorrow, but -_ " His cheeks flushed lightly as he finished his sentence. " -  _but it's less uncertain now that you're here, and I have a reason to come back home._ "

"You can come back home to me," Ravio marvelled, his voice quiet and joyful with the foreign prospect of reciprocated affection. He leaned in to brush a strand of hair away from Link's eyes, the gesture so soft and intimate that he was frozen in place.

Link caught his hand and kissed his wrist, throwing his head back cheerfully at the high-pitched squeal that erupted from under his purple hood. " _Can I just ask one, single question ?_ "

"Oh, well, I suppose so," the merchant huffed, too flustered to refuse anything from him. He tugged on his hood persistently again, trying needlessly to hide more of his face.

" _Can I kiss you ?_ "

Now how could anyone say no to that ?

"Close your eyes," Ravio instructed, fighting back a smirk. Link complied, wearing a similar expression. He took the time to admire his face, still stunned they could look so similar, and yet so different - and when he was confident the blond wouldn't peak, he let his hood fall back.

As soon as he heard the rustle of fabric, Link reached out to pull Ravio closer and pressed his lips to his face very gently, as though he were scared they might leave a mark. He held his face between his hands, mapping out every inch of it with his fingers - he ran his index down his nose, and his thumbs made circular motions beneath his eyes. Ravio knew he was trying to get a good idea of what he might look like, to try and visualise something real, less imaginary that whatever his mind had constructed over the past few months, and this time the danger of being found out was a  _thrill_ that pushed him to curl his hands into Link's hair and kiss him harder, whispering his infatuation against his lips.

Link, in a similar state of disbelief, let a hand wander down Ravio's face, fingertips tingling against the skin of his neck, and stop at his shoulder, which he squeezed; the sensation of being kissed for the very first time was so far beyond his imagination that he just had to check that there was a real, compact being, truly kneeling on the bed besides him, tugging at his hair. A fragment of his mind wondered if Ravio, the Ravio that had starved and worked through the night and wandered, longing for a better future, had ever imagined something like this. He, as a child, certainly had. Desperate to reassure the part they shared that was still lonesome and afraid, he used his fingers to draw each letter with care on Ravio's skin. " _I love you._ "

Ravio let his forehead rest against Link's shoulder, face buried in the crook of his neck where fabric receded and allowed skin to show. "I love you," he mirrored, unable to bite back a grin. "And I really, really,  _really_ hope you don't have any hero-ing to do anytime soon, because this is the happiest I've ever felt."

Link shook his head and sat back against the wall, wrapping his arms tight around him.

 

" _Don't worry,_ " he signed, " _I'd rather stay home._ "

**Author's Note:**

> here's to hoping you enjoyed this !!! feedback is much loved and appreciated. thank you for getting this far !


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